Zoo
by Tamnation
Summary: Zoo's are for animals not people right? What about an alien Zoo? Too bad when you're the alien. 9thRose. R


Authors Note: Just something I wrote to pass the time while trying not to do an RE assignment. Oh by the way I blame the computer if the scene changes don't make sense

Disclaimer: I don't own nothing that's why I'm here

Something was wrong. Rose knew it before she opened her eyes. This wasn't her nice warm bed on the Tardis and it wasn't her Mum's place in London either. She was somewhere cold and she could feel a hard floor beneath her. Rose slowly opened her eyes dreading what she was going to see. What she saw wasn't as bad as some of the things her imagination had come up with but it was definitely not comforting. Bars. On all sides of her except behind her where there was a solid wall. Through the bars she could see a night sky similar to hers on earth except in the sky hung two moons one a greeny colour the other a pale purple. Rose shivered as a gust of wind blew over her. She looked down and noticed that whoever had put her in here had removed her clothes and placed a collar around her neck. Roses heart sank as she tried to remove the collar and found that it had no catch or anything to undo it. Where was the Doctor? Or Jack even. How on Earth had she gotten here? The last thing she remembered was visiting some planet with a pink sky and an unpronounceable name.

Flashback

Rose looked around her excitedly. The Doctor and Jack stood either side of her just smiling at her excitement. It was largely for Roses benefit that they went adventuring. To show her the universe and in the return the two men got to see Roses face light up like a child on Christmas morning. They had fun n the adventures sure and both the Doctor and Jack got a rush from the running-for-our-lives end to most of their adventures. But they knew that it wouldn't be as fun if they didn't have Rose. There would be no one to explain things to or to tease and laugh at while she tried to pronounce really weird and bizarre planet names. So they just smiled at her as she gasped in delight at the magnificent pink sky above them.

"Talyraxien 5 just like I promised" The Doctor said cheerfully.

"You mean we actually landed right this time?" Rose teased and the Doctor's face filled with mock injury before Rose grabbed his hand quickly as well as jack's and started to drag them away from the Tardis and towards what was no doubt a city. "Come on, what's there to see on this planet anyway?"

Jack and the Doctor exchanged identical grins before following their blonde companion towards what was promising to be an interesting day.

End Flashback

Roses head spun and the bars shifted in and out of focus as she tried to remember what had happened after that. The alien city had been exactly that, alien. Unlike most of the places that the Doctor took them this planet seemed almost devoid of all human or humanoid life except for the odd couple of blue men with two heads and a girl with two pairs of arms and a tail. They had gone shopping for Rose or had attempted to. The problem with shopping for clothes on an alien race is they have to be made for your species and not just in your size and as Rose was one of few humanoids they had nothing that would fit her. The Doctor and Jack had just laughed and teased her about it as she pouted before the Doctor promised that they would go shopping for clothes on their next trip. Eventually, towards the end of the day, the trio found themselves sitting in a pub or the local equivalent. It was there that they had been approached by two freaky looking aliens with eight eyes and a whole heap of tentacles but who seemed friendly enough.

Flashback

Jack had gone to get the drinks leaving the Doctor and Rose alone at a table in the far corner. Rose was aimlessly twirling a piece of her hair while looking around her at all the other patrons of the establishment.

"So Rose did you like this trip?" The Doctor asked breaking the small silence that had grown between them. Rose looked up and smiled.

"Yeah it's been nice. I haven't had anyone try to kill me, hold me hostage, kidnap me, ruin my outfit by getting alien goo on it, run for my life, rescue the pair of you from whatever trouble your or Jack has gotten us into. . ."

"Alright I get the point." The Doctor said sulkily.

"I'd miss it though if we didn't get into trouble. This is nice as a one off but I like the way we live" Rose said seriously. She meant it. She didn't regret any of it, especially not the running for her life with the Doctor's hand in hers. "You know . . ."

"Sorry for interrupting but these guys were pretty insistent on talking to you" Jack said as he came back to the table leading to aliens who were carrying the Trio's drinks. They sat themselves down in between Rose and the Doctor.

"Hi we are the Zymboic twins. We saw that you were definitely strangers around here and felt obliged to introduce ourselves." One of the creatures said and the Doctor looked at it slightly wary of it but then his usual inane grin took over.

"I'm the Doctor," He introduced himself. "These are Rose Tyler and Captain Jack, my companions."

"Nice to meet you all." The other twin said. Rose took one of the drinks from the middle of the table and started to sip at it nervously, pondering what was in it. It tasted slightly of vodka mixed with raspberry cordial but with a really peculiar after taste. The twins turned towards Rose. "What species are you exactly? Not meaning to be rude but in all our travels we have never encountered your kind."

"I'm human" Rose said. As she received only blank uncomprehending stares she continued. "From the planet Earth" Still more uncomprehending stares. Rose was suddenly beginning to get light headed. She sighed. "Never mind"

"We have never heard of such a place. How have you traveled so far to get here?" The twins asked. Rose shook her head and turned to look at the Doctor who was going slightly blurry round the edges.

"We have a ship." He said simply and decided it was time to change the topic. "So what exactly do you do?"

"We run a Zoo." The twins said and Rose leant her head on the table trying to focus but it was getting harder. "We came to this planet to look for strange creatures to take back with us."

The last thing Rose remembered before she lost consciousness was the look of surprise and almost horror on the Doctors face.

End Flashback

So that must be where she was. Those aliens put her in their ZOO. How dare they? She was a human being. Well duh, that was the problem. But then where were the Doctor and Jack? Were they in cages too? If not why had the Doctor let them take her? Roses head was pounding and so full of unanswerable questions. It was still dark within her cage but she could see that the stars were beginning to fade away. Would she ever be able to go exploring them again? Would the three of them ever get to run for their lives and feel that adrenalin rush that they thrived on?

Rose felt a tear roll down her cheek as she lay down on the cool concrete floor. Would she ever see them again? Would she ever see him? She regretted very little only her silence and lack of courage in the face of emotions. She had never told him that she loved him. And now, she thought as she drifted to sleep, I may never get the chance.

The Doctor woke with a splitting headache. There were only two possible reasons. Either he had had way too much to drink or someone had hit him over the head. Hard. He got slowly to his feet and looked around him. He was in the control room of the Tardis. Next to him, Jack was still passed out from the night before. There was no sign of Rose. The Doctor was suddenly hit with the sinking feeling that something had gone horribly wrong. He ran through the corridors of the Tardis towards Roses room hoping that the Tardis hadn't rearranged itself overnight. He started to bang on her door as loud as he could.

"Rose! Are you in there? Rose if you don't answer me in five seconds I'm coming in." The Doctor shouted through the door before finally turning the handle with that sinking feeling getting bigger. The room was empty. The Doctor ran back to the control room. Jack was groaning as he entered.

"What did we do last night. I feel like someone attacked my head with a sledge hammer."

"I'm not sure." The Doctor said as he ran a scan of the Tardis looking for Rose. Within moments the results were back. "Oh no"

"What?" Jack said sharply, the Doctors tone snapping him out of his hangover. The Doctor never sounded that serious.

"Rose is gone" The Doctor said simply. Jack was up beside him in an instant staring at the Doctor as if he had just been told that he had three heads and wanted to check it out.

"She's what?"

"She's not here. We must have left her there or else . . ." The Doctor trailed of as both his and jack's thoughts began to fill with all sorts of horrifying scenarios that their Rose could have gotten herself into. The Doctor racked his mind to what had happened the night before, willing himself to remember.

Flaskback

The Doctor stared horrified first at the aliens and then at Rose who had collapsed on the table. She hadn't had too much to drink, there was no reason for her to have passed out and the fact that the aliens were collecting strange unusual aliens in a place that had never before seen a human filled him with worry. He looked over at Jack who was staring at Rose in surprise. He looked alright, for Jack anyway.

"What do you want with us?" The Doctor demanded, trying his best to be polite.

"We noticed that you seemed to be the dominant one and we assumed that these other two belonged to you. We wondered if you would consider selling us this one." The twins said and one of them pointed a tentacle at Rose. The Doctor felt outrage flow through him. No one should be allowed to put other living things in cages, especially not intelligent ones. But the fact that they wanted Rose, his Rose, made the Doctor see red. Jack was also looking ready to pummel the two aliens.

"No." The answer was strained as the Doctor tried as hard as he could to be civilized at least and not start ripping off tentacles.

"We weren't asking." The twins said and they nodded their head. The Doctor felt something hit his head and everything went black.

End Flashback

"They took her." The Doctor said as comprehension dawned over him. He sank to the floor, still leaning against the main control panel. "They took her and now their going to put her in a Zoo and there's nothing we can do."

Jack looked up from where he had been pacing and he understood almost instantly what the Doctor meant. Yet this was unusual. The Doctor never gave up. He always had a plan to rescue either Jack or Rose or sometimes even both. Jack had never seen him look so defeated. The life seemed to have gone out of him. It would be up to Jack to figure out a plan. The Doctor wouldn't, couldn't in this state.

"Where is the Zymboic Brothers Zoo?" Jack asked curiously hoping to spark some response from the Doctor. The Doctor looked up.

"It's on a moon of Lucantra, or more accurately it is a moon." The Doctor said some life entering his voice as he looked at Jack in hope.

"That's where we're going then isn't it. We have to get our Rose back else what can we do?" Jack said and the Doctor stood. "Mind you I'm sure we could find something . . ."

Jack trailed off and ran his tongue over his lips. The Doctor laughed and his grin came back. "Not today Captain. Maybe Tomorrow if you're good."

The Tardis's engines groaned into life as the doctor set the coordinates and pulled a whole heap of levers. They landed with a thud that sent Jack and the Doctor falling to the floor. They got up and dusted themselves off, before glancing at each other.

"Ready?" The Doctor asked Jack. Jack nodded and the pair headed out the doors of the Tardis only to be greeted by huge signs announcing varying varieties of aliens. They glanced at them all looking for the one that would point them to Rose. They eventually just picked a queue at random and joined the end.

Rose huddled in a corner of her cage. There were so many aliens staring at her. All different sorts and they could all see her. Rose was so scared. The little aliens through funny coloured flakes at her that could have been like the peanuts she had seen small kids throw at elephants in Zoos back in London. Funny how she no longer saw her mum's apartment as Home. The Tardis was home now. The aliens outside her enclosure kept staring at her and Rose was reminded yet again that she was wearing only the collar around her neck. She felt her tears slide down her face and she drew her legs even closer to her chest.

It was then that she heard a sudden burst of laughter from just outside her cage. She looked up to see a small alien laughing at her. He was the closest to humanoid that she had seen all day except for the fact that the little boy had wings and talons for feet. She felt a wave of anger burst through her at this little boy. Why was he mocking her? She pt her head down again, only to hear a loud thud and the laughing abruptly stopped. She looked up again and there stood the Doctor and Jack standing over the boy.

"That's what you get for laughing at others misfortunes." Jack said sagely to the boy as he watched the Boy get up and fly away with one terrified glance back at the Doctor.

"Rose, are you alright!" The Doctor exclaimed as he leant against the bars of her cage. Rose could only nod her head in relief at the sight of him. She wanted to run over there and hug him but she was too ashamed. She was already in the darkest part of the enclosure and she wasn't sure how well that hid her from sight. She watched as the Doctors face darkened. "They didn't . . ."

"No." Rose managed to stammer out. Jack was staring at her as if trying to figure out something. The Doctor was obviously confused.

"Rose?" He was hesitant. "What is it? Can you come over here?"

Rose couldn't answer. Jack's eyes widened as he stared into the dark corner at Rose. "Rose, what happened to your clothes?"

The Doctor turned to stare at Jack for a second before returning his gaze to Rose. Rose crept slowly forward towards them and both men stared as her naked body came into sight. The Doctor could feel his desire rising but he forced himself to think abut something else.

"I don't know. I can't remember." Rose said quietly. She was ashamed to have them see her like this.

"Don't worry. We'll get you out somehow Rose I promise." The Doctor told her confidently. Attached to his face was the smile that he saved for the especially inappropriate moments. Jack just nodded in agreement. Rose felt relief break over her. She knew they would get her out. The Doctor always kept his promises. The Doctor shrugged off is leather jacket and passed it through the bars.

"It's better than nothing." He muttered with his head down. Rose gratefully took it and slipped her arms into it.

Jack was leaning against the bars now beside the Doctor. Impulsively, Rose went to the Bars and gave Jack a hug before moving to the Doctor. She almost stopped herself but she new that she had to do it now. Kneeling down they came face to face, but the Doctor couldn't look her in the eye. She reached forward and tilted his face towards hers, hesitating only a moment before planting her lips on his. She felt his surprise as he stiffened up and Rose broke the kiss.

"Hurry Doctor" She whispered as she stood and walked back to the darkest corner where they couldn't see her and the Doctor couldn't see the tears that were running down her face.

"Rose?" The Doctor called but she didn't answer him. After another five minutes she heard them move away and the procession of creatures staring started again as Rose started sobbing.

Jack and the Doctor wandered through the rest of the Zoo, looking at random enclosures. The Doctor was too lost in his own little world to care. She'd kissed him. Three little words revolving around his head. His Rose had kissed him. The Doctor was kicking himself for not responding. He was almost sure that her eyes had glistened with tears as she whispered in his ear. Did she think that he didn't love her? The thought of her was enough to make his knees go weak. He loved her, had done since she had spotted the transmitter in London that time. But how could she ever love him? With his big ears and northern accent and broken space/time machine.

"You stuffed up back there Doc." Jack said breaking into the Doctors reverie.

"What?" The Doctor asked surprised.

"You hurt her. When we get her back you're going to have to go to some effort to make her understand that you're crazy about her else she'll ask to go home and we'll lose her." As always, the Doctor had underestimated Jack's intelligence. It was just that he acted like such a flirt most of the time that it made everyone forget that inside there was someone who was intelligent and could get to the heart of the problem immediately.

"What should I do?"

"Take her somewhere nice, just the two of you and try not to finish with running for your life." Jack said. "C'mon the Zoo's closing. We'll head back to the Tardis. Rematerialise inside Roses cage and get the hell out of here and probably never go anywhere near these planets again."

The Doctor laughed and nodded and led the way back to the Tardis to launch operation Rescue Rose.

Rose heard the familiar Engines as the Tardis landed in the cage and she scrambled away from it so that it could land properly. Jack opened the door and motioned for her to hurry. She didn't need telling twice. She ran into the Tardis and gave Jack a huge hug unimpeded by anything.

"I'm so glad to see you." Rose said before blushing as she realised she was still half naked and her body was pressed up against Jack. The Doctor raised an eyebrow questioningly and Jack just laughed as the Tardis started to move again. The Doctor was focused on getting them out of there so Rose slipped past him and headed towards her bedroom to find some clothes. She didn't know if she could face the Doctor. She had embarrassed herself, reading too much into their relationship. Even after his repeated warnings that he didn't "do domestic" she still thought that maybe he fancied her. But it had all been in her head.

As she came to her room, Rose just threw herself onto her bed and started to cry.

The Doctor was pacing the control room wondering what to do. Rose was upset. He knew that as he had heard the sobs through the door as he had followed her. It was his fault, but he didn't know what to do to fix it. Jack wasn't helping either. He just kept leaning against a wall watching the Doctor with a small smirk on his face.

The Doctor suddenly remembered what Jack had said to him earlier. He set the coordinates for 3746 Earth years, before hurrying off towards the wardrobe section of the Tardis.

Rose woke up the next morning to almost complete silence. She knew that she was still in her room on the Tardis, but she couldn't hear the usual sounds of the men tinkering with the Tardis in the control room or the groan of the Tardis engines. She opened hr eyes curiously to find note leaning on her bedside table and a shimmering silver dress hanging off the door. She opened the note first.

_Dear Rose_

_Please meet me outside the Tardis and wear the Dress._

_The Doctor_

Short, abrupt and to the point. Typical. He probably wanted to send her home. But then why the dress. Brimming with curiosity Rose slipped into the dress and brushed her hair back. She almost ran to the control room but managed to contain it. Waiting for her outside the Tardis was an amazing view of the Earth from what appeared to be the moon but with a shimmering sky shield between them which was obviously trapping the oxygen. There was no sign of the Doctor but Rose could hear music playing in the background and she headed towards that.

The Doctor was sitting on a picnic blanket with a bunch of Roses. Rose stared at him in amazement. He had lost his leather jacket somewhere and had replaced it with a suit. He looked good.

"I'm sorry." He said as he indicated for her to take a seat next to him. She couldn't look at him. She knew what was coming next. He was going to tell her he didn't do domestic, that he had made a mistake bringing her, that he was taking her home.

The Doctor wasn't going to let her avoid him the whole evening. He tilted her head up so that she was looking at him. He could see the fear and the hurt in those eyes and all he wanted was to make it go away.

"You surprised me earlier, when you kissed me." He said and Rose tried to turn her head away but the Doctor held it in place. He needed to say this now else he'd never have the courage to do it again. "That's why I tensed."

Roses eyes lit up with hope. She wondered if he was trying to say what she thought he was. The Doctor wondered over his next words but his brain was working overly well as he stared into Roses brown eyes. "Oh stuff it" he murmured and then he kissed her.

Roses reaction was instant. She kissed him back, savouring in his taste, in the way that his lips fell perfectly against hers. Everything felt so right.

Eventually they drew apart. Both slightly breathless and a new fire burnt in each of their eyes.

"I love you, Rose" The Doctor whispered as he leant forward to pull her into an embrace.

"I love you too."

When the pair finally arrived back at the Tardis neither of them noticed Jack as he lay on the control room floor tinkering with some random piece of electronics. But he noticed them. Roses head leant against the Doctor's shoulder and his arm was firmly around his waist. Jack smiled to himself as the exited the room.

"Finally."

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